Retail: Grocery

Lord Davies of Abersoch: My honourable friend the Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprentices and Consumer Affairs (Kevin Brennan) has today made the following Statement.
	Today the Government are publishing the government response accepting the Competition Commission's recommendation to establish an enforcer to monitor and enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).
	The Government want to ensure that the GSCOP can be independently enforced and have the important power to hear anonymous complaints. However, the Government are mindful of placing unnecessary costs on to business especially in a period of economic difficulty, which is why we plan to issue a consultation on how best to take matters forward.
	We have also taken the decision to revoke the Land Agreements Exclusion Order following a recent public consultation resulting from a related Competition Commission recommendation. We will proceed to make the revocation order at the earliest opportunity but give businesses a transitional period to ensure that their agreements are compatible with competition rules.
	Copies of the responses have been deposited in the Libraries of the House and will be available on the BIS website at www.berr.gov.uk/files/file54194.pdf